DOE Funding Bill a Win for Energy Efficiency; President Should Sign it Promptly

Release Date: Thursday, September 13, 2018

WASHINGTON – The Alliance to Save Energy released the following statement from President Jason Hartke in response to the House and Senate passing a spending bill that includes increased funding for energy efficiency initiatives at the Department of Energy:

“This bill represents a ringing bipartisan endorsement of the work the Department of Energy does to improve energy efficiency and energy productivity. These programs have a clear track record of success. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle recognize that using the energy we produce more productively is simply a good investment that improves U.S. competitiveness, reduces costs for families and businesses, creates jobs and economic activity, and cuts pollution.”

“Congress got the job done; now the president should sign this into law promptly. Any gap or uncertainty in funding would mean disruptions to this critical work and more wasted energy.”

“This strong plan for efficiency programs would not have happened without the dedicated work of members of our Honorary Board of Advisors who serve on the Senate Appropriations Committee: Honorary Board Chair Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Honorary Vice-Chair Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Honorary Advisor and Energy-Water Subcommittee Chairman Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and Honorary Advisors Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). We thank them for their leadership and their commitment to energy efficiency.”

Background:

The Alliance has been advocating against deep cuts to energy efficiency programs proposed by the Trump administration, and smaller cuts passed by the House. The final plan passed by both chambers protects all DOE energy efficiency programs and gives small funding boosts to most: Building Technologies (2 percent), Advanced Manufacturing (5 percent), Vehicle Technologies (2 percent), Federal Energy Management Program (11 percent), Weatherization Assistance (2 percent), and ARPA-E (4 percent).

About the Alliance to Save Energy

Founded in 1977, the Alliance to Save Energy is a nonprofit, bipartisan alliance of business, government, environmental and consumer leaders working to expand the economy while using less energy. Our mission is to promote energy productivity worldwide – including through energy efficiency – to achieve a stronger economy, a cleaner environment and greater energy security, affordability and reliability.